Northern Michigan Sports Medicine CrossFit program

Dennis Klepadlo of Petoskey (foreground) participates in a CrossFit class at Northern Michigan Sports Medicine Center in Petoskey, led by Phil Loesch.

Sweat dripped onto the floor as the two men counted their push-ups, watched closely by Northern Michigan Sports Medicine Center trainer Phil Loesch.

One finished and quickly picked up a dumbbell. As he began his thrusters — a squat with a dumbbell extended above his head at the end — Loesch marked a tally on a white board.

"How much longer?" the man panted as he finished the thrusters and started push-ups again.

"Eight minutes," Loesch responded, "We're doing 15 minutes total."

The men visibly sagged under this news and then renewed their efforts. Seven push-ups, then five right-handed thrusters, then five left-handed thrusters, then back to push-ups. At the end of each round Loesch added a tally next to the man's name.

As the minutes ticked on, the two men began to slow, taking longer breaks and panting hard. With two minutes to go Loesch stepped up the heat, "Come on. This is go time! Don't let up!"

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The men, who had already been going full speed for 13 minutes, struggled to maintain their momentum. As soon as the clock stopped, they dropped to the ground, faces red and drenched in sweat — not an uncommon sight at the end of a CrossFit workout.

It has been four years since Loesch discovered CrossFit, a unique program designed to improve general fitness that has been quickly gaining popularity all over the world.

Three years ago he became a certified CrossFit coach and in January he began offering classes at the Petoskey east location of Northern Michigan Sports Medicine Center.

"CrossFit workouts consist of constantly varied, functional movements done at high intensity," Loesch explained. "This workout is designed to take the fittest people on the planet and reduce them to rubble, but at the same time it's scalable. Their needs and grandma's needs are identical. It's the intensity level that is different."

Each CrossFit "Workout of the Day" (WOD) takes an average of 20-30 minutes to complete.

Each WOD consists of two or three multi-joint exercises that are repeated. Sometimes the goal is to complete as many rounds as possible in a given amount of time — for example, in 20 minutes, as many rounds as possible of five pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 squats. At other times the goal is to complete one round as fast as possible — for example, five rounds (for time) of 20 pull-ups, 30 push-ups, 40 sit-ups, 50 squats.

Two recommended workout schedules on crossfit.com are three days of CrossFit and one day of rest, or five days of CrossFit and two days of rest. CrossFit Petoskey suggests starting out with two days a week.

Loesch said each CrossFit workout is scalable, which means each person does the WOD at a rate that is high intensity for him or her. The amount of weight lifted is different for each person as well. The goal for everyone is to complete the exercises as fast as possible while maintaining good form and minimizing rest time.

The first CrossFit-affiliated gym was opened in 1995 in Santa Cruz, Calif., by gymnast, bicyclist and personal trainer Greg Glassman. Since then, CrossFit has spread internationally and is being used by military organizations, fire departments and police agencies.

The CrossFit philosophy can be summed up by one quote from Glassman, "Blur the distinction between strength training and metabolic conditioning for the simple reason that nature's challenges are typically blind to the distinction."

Dennis Klepadlo of Petoskey can attest to the truth of this quote.

After trying a number of fitness programs he began CrossFit training with Loesch at the end of April.

"The great thing about CrossFit is the combination of strength and cardio workout," he said. "It makes it fun so it's not routine."

Loesch, an athletic trainer for 28 years, agreed.

"It's been life changing for me," he said. "I've always been fit, but CrossFit is amazing. I am 50 years old and the fittest I've ever been. I'll train like this for the rest of my life."

CrossFit Petoskey class schedules and prices can be found at www.northernmichigansportsmed.com or by calling Loesch at (231) 838-2650.

Loesch cautioned beginners who attempt CrossFit workouts without a certified coach that there can be ill effects from a workout that pushes the body to the limit.

Northern Michigan Sports Medicine Center offers physical therapy, aquatic therapy and personal and strength training to the residents of Northern Michigan. Twenty-six years ago Chuck Smith founded the company, which currently operates in seven locations — Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Rogers City, Harbor Springs, Indian River and two locations in Petoskey. For more information go to www.northernmichigansportsmed.com or call (231) 347-9300.

Although CrossFit is an overall fitness program that improves athletes for many difference sports, specialized CrossFit programs exist including CrossFits Kids (www.crossfitkids.com), CrossFit Endurance (www.crossfitendurance.com), and CrossFit Football (www.crossfitfootball.com).